The present invention is directed to a device and method for identifying a size of a disposable diaper or other article which is appropriate in terms of proper fit for a potential wearer of the article.
Disposable diapers and other absorbent articles are designed to absorb and contain liquid and other discharges from the human body to prevent body and clothing soiling. Disposable diapers, as one example, have a variety of designs, each typically available in a range of sizes. The size of the diaper typically affects, for example, the size of the diaper waist opening, the size of the openings around the thighs, and the length or xe2x80x9cpitchxe2x80x9d of the diaper. If a person such as a consumer selects a diaper which is size-inappropriate for a potential wearer, the waist opening, thigh openings or pitch of the diaper, for instance, may be too large for proper fit on the wearer, potentially leading to slipping, sliding, sagging, drooping, or a loss of gasketing effects that are designed to inhibit leakage. Alternatively, the waist opening, thigh opening or pitch of a size-inappropriate diaper may be too small for proper fit, potentially leading to wearer discomfort or skinmarking of the wearer""s skin.
Currently, disposable diapers are typically sold in packages which are labeled with a xe2x80x9csize numberxe2x80x9d and a recommended wearer weight range. For example, a package labeled xe2x80x9cSize 3xe2x80x9d may include information that the recommended wearer weight range for the diapers included in the package is from about 16 to 28 pounds (about 7 to 13 kg). As a result, weight is often the sole criteria used to identify a diaper size and thereby select a particular-sized diaper for a potential wearer. This is the case even though other characteristics and anthropometric attributes of potential wearers (for example, age, height, waist circumference, thigh circumference, and rise) may vary widely within the recommended weight range, and may result in an ill-fitting diaper even though a wearer""s weight falls within that range.
Further complicating the typical situation with respect to the identification and selection of size-appropriate disposable diapers is the presence of a significant overlap, from one xe2x80x9csize numberxe2x80x9d to the next, of the recommended weight ranges on the associated packages. For example, a xe2x80x9cSize 2xe2x80x9d diaper may have a recommended weight range from about 12 to 18 pounds (about 5 to 8 kg), a xe2x80x9cSize 3xe2x80x9d diaper may have a recommended weight range from about 16 to 28 pounds (about 7 to 13 kg), and a xe2x80x9cSize 4xe2x80x9d diaper may have a recommended weight range from about 22 to 37 pounds (about 10 to 17 kg). A xe2x80x9cSize 5xe2x80x9d or greater diaper may have a recommended weight range with no upper limit. Such overlaps or lack of upper weight limits may lead to consumer confusion or a lack of faith that the recommended weight ranges alone are reliable means of identifying the size of a diaper which is fit-appropriate for the potential wearer.
Thus, there is a need for a device and method which can more reliably identify the size of a disposable diaper or other absorbent article which is fit-appropriate for a potential wearer.
The present invention is directed to a device and method for identifying a size of a disposable diaper or other absorbent article which is fit-appropriate for a potential wearer of the article.
The device of the invention employs information regarding a size or sizes of a disposable diaper or other absorbent article and an association between the size information and information regarding at least two different selected characteristics of potential wearers to identify a disposable diaper or other article which is sized appropriately in terms of proper fit for potential wearers who possess particular values for such characteristics. By way of example, the device of the invention can be a chart, graphic, table or list which includes size information associated with information regarding two or more selected characteristics of potential wearers in a manner which identifies, or which allows a person such as a consumer to identify, a size of disposable diaper or other absorbent article which is appropriate for a potential wearer possessing particular values for each of the selected characteristics. As another example, the device can be a computer or other interactive device which includes size information associated with information regarding selected potential wearer characteristics, and which allows a person to input values for the selected characteristics and then provides information identifying the size of disposable diaper or other absorbent article which is fit-appropriate for a wearer possessing characteristics having such values. Apparatus which enables a person such as a consumer to readily ascertain such values relative to a particular wearer are also described.
The method of the invention, in one aspect, involves selecting at least two different characteristics possessed by potential wearers of a disposable diaper or other absorbent article, developing an association between values for each of the characteristics and a size of the absorbent article which is fit-appropriate for potential wearers who possess particular values for such characteristics, and providing a medium which conveys information identifying or which allows a person such as a consumer to identify the size of disposable diaper or other absorbent article which is fit-appropriate for a wearer who possesses particular values for each of the characteristics. The medium can convey such size information visually, audibly or otherwise.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a method for identifying a fit-appropriate size of a disposable diaper or other absorbent article for potential wearers based upon the values of at least two wearer characteristics which are preferably known or readily ascertained by a person such as a consumer and which also takes into account at least two, and more preferably at least three, underlying anthropometric attributes of the wearers as well as attributes of the diaper or other article itself which are important to fit. The method can also be employed in developing a device which can be used to reliably identify an appropriately sized disposable diaper or other absorbent article.
The devices and methods of the invention can be utilized to provide meaningful guidance to a person such as a consumer, enabling the person to identify and select size-appropriate disposable diapers or other absorbent articles more reliably than an identification or selection based solely upon a single wearer characteristic such as a wearer""s weight. Certain aspects of the invention can also be utilized to develop simplified relationships between anthropometric attributes of potential wearers which are important to article fit and other selected wearer characteristics. The foregoing devices and methods can be employed relative to disposable diapers and other absorbent articles having a range of sizes and a variety of designs.